


breathe easy

by fabr4y (firelrd)



Category: Glee
Genre: Background Santana Lopez/Brittany S. Pierce, M/M, background Rachel Berry/Quinn Fabray - Freeform, klaine kid, this is very anti kurt/klaine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:42:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24245224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firelrd/pseuds/fabr4y
Summary: Blaine Anderson needed to escape New York. After his divorce, it seemed that everything about the city reminded him of his past (shitty) marriage, and he was sick of it. So, he took his daughter and boarded a plane back to Lima, Ohio. Who should he run into other than his old pal Sam Evans, now the show choir director at McKinley High?
Relationships: Blaine Anderson/Sam Evans
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	breathe easy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi this is for shahad asf also comment or i’ll die

The air was cleaner in Lima.

That’s the first thing Blaine thought to himself when he exited the airport, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply. It was sweeter; it filled his lungs up in a way that the New York air never had. It was good to be back.

He felt his daughter squeeze his hand, and he looked down to see her staring up at him with those big brown eyes that she obviously got from none other than Rachel Fabray-Berry. Grace Anderson-Hummel was probably the cutest kid Blaine had ever seen in his life, although maybe he was a little biased. He used to be sad that she only inherited his and Rachel’s looks; he never liked to see the sadness in Kurt’s eyes when people on the street would stop them to say Grace looked exactly like Blaine. Looking at her now, though, he was grateful that there wasn’t any of Kurt to find. There wasn’t a single reminder of him on her face.

All that was left was to change her name. 

She wouldn’t miss it; she probably won’t even remember it was ever there, considering Kurt couldn’t make it 5 years into her life without falling into bed with several men, men who weren’t Blaine.

Grace tugged on his hand again and he chuckled before lifting her into his arms as his Uber pulled up to the curb next to them. When they got in the car, Blaine handed Grace his phone to play on so he could peacefully look out the window and take in the landscape he hadn’t seen in so long. Rolling hills, endless wheat fields, cloudless, sunny skies. It was all so familiar yet so alien. 

All he knew was that he liked it better than New York.

New York was constricting; its walls closing in, the streets so narrow and busy that you had to fold in on yourself to fit. He had never felt like himself there. He made himself fit. And he felt like a failure for not belonging there; all of his friends, his husband, they were all thriving off of the energy, the bustle. It just made him feel small. 

Lima, though, Lima felt different. Freeing. He knew everyone felt the opposite, everyone left Lima and never looked back, but there was so much about it he missed. He missed the streets being quiet at night, he missed being able to drive along winding roads with the windows rolled down, blasting music and singing along with someone. He missed not having a care in the world. 

Blaine’s stomach grumbled.

He missed  _ Breadstix.  _ Breadstix was what he needed right now.

“This the place?” the Uber driver asked, snapping Blaine out of his thoughts.

“Yes, thanks so much,” he responded as he unhooked his seatbelt. The driver got their luggage out of the trunk as Blaine scooped Grace into his arms and exited the vehicle. He looked up at the apartment complex in front of them and sighed contentedly. 

He spotted his old car, the one from high school, sitting in the parking lot, and he grinned. His mom had kept her word and dropped it off.

“You hungry, Gracie?” he asked the small girl in his arms. She nodded fervently. He laughed loudly, then checked his watch. Six o’clock. Late enough for dinner. “I’m gonna show you one of the best restaurants in the world, baby.” 

“Can I get mac n cheese?” Grace asked in her small, gentle voice, and Blaine nearly melted at the sound. Every time she spoke, he loved her more, which he didn’t think was possible. He was so glad he got to keep her. With him, away from Kurt.

“Of course you can,” he responded softly, hugging her tighter as he strode over to the car, popped the trunk and threw their bags into it. 

Unpacking could wait. They had some eating to do.

  
  


When Blaine arrived at Breadstix, the only thing that stopped him from feeling right back in high school was the child whose hand he was holding. The dim lights, the tall, green booths and the overflowing potted plants transported him back to nights spent here senior year with his friends, talking and laughing and coming up with ridiculous setlist ideas for glee club. He smiled slightly at the memory as he approached the hostess.

“A booth for me and this little lady, please,” he said, and the hostess (her name tag read Sarah) gave him a confused look before she craned her neck over the podium to spot Grace.

“It’ll be about a five minute wait, we just need to clear the table for you,” she responded with a bright smile. Blaine returned the gesture and moved to sit on the bench in the waiting area.

The bell on top of the door jingled behind him.

_ “Blaine?  _ Blaine Anderson? Is that you?” a strikingly familiar voice called from behind him.

Blaine stood and turned to see a grinning Sam Evans barreling towards him, arms outstretched.

“Dude! Why didn’t you call me and tell me you’d be in town?” Sam asked as he pulled Blaine in for a bear hug, lifting him off the ground slightly. If Blaine wasn’t breathless before, he certainly was now.

“Sam, oh my God. How long has it been? Four years?” Blaine responded as Sam let him go, and he was glad he got those words out before he got a good look at the other man, because  _ wow.  _ Sam looked  _ good.  _ His hair was brown and cropped short, and he was wearing a classically-McKinley red polo, the sleeves of which fitted nicely around his muscled biceps. 

“Something like that. Since Quinn and Rachel’s wedding. Hey, where’s Kurt?” he asked, looking around with his brow furrowed. Blaine cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Uh, he’s not here. Just me and this beauty,” he responded a little awkwardly, stepping aside to put Grace in Sam’s line of sight. His eyes widened when he spotted her, and he instantly dropped down to get to her eye level.

“Well, hello there, pretty lady. My name’s Sam. What’s yours?” he greeted her, his hand outstretched, his smile blinding.

Grace giggled at the compliment and shook his finger, as it was all she could grab onto. “Grace,” she replied quietly, a shy smile on her face.

“That’s an awesome name, Grace. I bet you’re more awesome than your dad. He’s pretty lame.”

“Hey!” Blaine interjected, and he would’ve acted more offended if he wasn’t grinning stupidly at the sight before him.

“Sir, your table is ready,” the hostess called from the podium, and Sam slowly raised to his full height again.

“Will you- I mean, do you want to eat with us?” Blaine asked before he could stop himself. Sam beamed at him.

“Totally! As long as I’m not, like, intruding or whatever,” he added quickly.

“Trust me, you’re not. It’s really good to see you, Sam.”

They just stood there, smiling at each other, Grace standing between them, until Sarah cleared her throat awkwardly and Blaine snapped out of it. He muttered a ‘sorry’ to her as he grabbed Grace’s hand and began following the hostess to the table, Sam on their heels. 

Sarah led them to a dimly lit booth towards the back of the restaurant, and Blaine and Grace slipped into one side, Sam on the other. Sarah set their menus down in front of them, smiled, and took her leave. Blaine eagerly opened his menu, but Sam didn’t even touch his. Blaine supposed he probably had a usual order by now.

“So… How are you? I mean, you’re back here, and you’re not with Kurt…” Sam trailed off, clearly not knowing how to phrase his question.

“I’m good. Much better now that he’s… now that I’m not with him. Let’s just leave it at that for now,” Blaine responded, glancing quickly at Grace, who was engrossed in playing with her plastic silverware. Sam caught his line of sight and nodded quickly.

“Yeah, for sure. I’m, uh, I’m glad you’re happy, man.”

“Thanks.” There was a beat of silence before Blaine continued. “So, what’s up with you? How have you been?” 

“Oh, I’m doing awesome. Got a gig at McKinley, show choir director,” Sam responded proudly, beaming. Blaine grinned.

“That’s incredible!”

“Yeah. Hopefully this will be our fourth consecutive Nationals win. You and Rachel really set a high standard, but I think my kids are living up to it.”

Blaine chuckled. “It’s cute that you think I even compare to Rachel Fabray-Berry.”

“You still think I’m cute, huh?” Sam shot back, an eyebrow raised as his lips pulled into a smirk. Blaine ducked his head to hide his blush.

“Oh, shut up.”

“You  _ so  _ do!”

“Stop exposing me in front of my daughter,” Blaine muttered, and Sam laughed heartily.

“I’m just messing with you. But for the record, I always thought you were cute, too. Just too insecure to admit it.”

Blaine’s mouth dropped open in surprise, but before he could question  _ that  _ loaded statement, a waitress came over to take their orders. He ordered chicken parmesan for himself and a kids’ serving of mac n cheese for Grace.

“And I’ll have the spaghetti and meatballs,” Sam added, handing all three of the menus to the waitress with a warm smile. 

Blaine was quickly noticing that Sam always smiled; there was never a moment where there wasn’t a twinkle in his eye or a dimple on his cheek. It was refreshing.

“Anyways, yeah. The New Directions are kicking ass. And you’re just as talented as Rachel. You’re basically the male version of her.”

Blaine rolled his eyes. “You’re forgetting that Jesse St. James exists,” he shot back.

Sam chuckled. “God, that guy. Could never forget about him.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s taking time off Broadway right now to coach Vocal Adrenaline. We kinda have a rivalry going right now. Rivals with benefits,” he added with a short laugh.

“Sorry,  _ what?”  _ Blaine hissed, quickly covering Grace’s ears with his hands. “Do you mean what I think you mean?”

“If you mean that me and St. James hook up sometimes, then yeah,” Sam responded, struggling to keep a straight face as Blaine opened and closed his mouth dramatically, soaking in the information.

“Since when are you… I mean, when did you… Fuck,” Blaine muttered, at a loss for words. Sam laughed loudly.

“I’m bi. Came to terms with it a few years back.” Blaine nodded slowly. “We’ve really missed a lot when it comes to each other, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess we have.”

Sam leaned back in his seat, a pensive look on his face. “You know, in high school, I always thought it’d be impossible for you and me not to be in touch.” A pause. “I always thought about calling you up, but I figured with your hotshot New York life, you would’ve forgotten me.”

“Sam, I think it’s impossible for anyone to forget you. Trust me on that,” Blaine responded quickly, and smiled internally when he saw Sam’s shoulders immediately relax. The easy smile returned to his face, and Blaine momentarily hated himself for being the cause of it leaving in the first place.

“So you’re saying I should’ve called?”

“It would’ve been a welcome surprise.”

“Well, damn. Now I’m regretting all my life choices.”

Blaine shrugged. “It doesn’t matter anymore. We’re here now.”

Sam’s smile spread into a grin, and Blaine couldn’t help but return the gesture.

“Yeah. We’re here now,” Sam repeated.

“Here now,” Grace piped up from beside Blaine, clearly wanting in on the conversation. Both men laughed at her words and Blaine ruffled her hair.

“Exactly, Gracie.”

Sam and Blaine made more small talk until their food arrived, keeping things mostly on Sam’s side of the tracks, discussing the New Directions and all the changes McKinley had undergone. They also gossiped about Quinn and Rachel and Brittany and Santana; Blaine had all the information on the brunettes and Sam had the inside scoop on the blondes. 

Grace had gotten excited at the mention of Auntie Rachel and enthusiastically told Sam the story of when she got to go backstage at a real Broadway show earlier that year. Sam listened intently, eyes wide and expressive, gasping at all the right times and high fiving her once she had finished her tale. Blaine had watched, amused at how well Sam got along with young children.

When their food came, Sam exaggeratedly slurped noodles into his mouth to make Grace laugh, and she did. She laughed louder than Blaine had heard in months. As soon as the noise escaped her, Blaine knew he was gonna end up staying here a while.


End file.
